As you gain experience and level up in Bound by Flame, you earn points to use toward the skill trees for each stance, Warrior, Ranger, and Pyromancer. Using your points wisely will make the game significantly easier to traverse. Each skill tree is divided by overall level. Novice is levels 1-5, Amateur is levels 6-11, Expert is levels 12-23 and you reach Master at level 24. New skills become available for purchase as you increase from Novice all the way to Master.
Orb of Fire
Novice: Upgraded Orb of Fire
Amateur: Multiple Orbs of Fire
Expert: Conflagration
The Orb of Fire is the Pyromancer’s standard projectile attack. The Upgraded Orb of Fire increases the damage, potential to interrupt an opponent’s attack and the chance of scoring a critical hit. Leveling the skill up further to Multiple Orbs of Fire, you can attack with two additional orbs with a normal hit and four with a critical hit. In addition, you can increase the damage of the additional orbs. If you’re going to use Pyromancy more often than not, upgrading the Orb of Fire should be a top priority, as it essentially gives you a damage buff.
Burning Weapon
Novice: Flaming Weapon
Expert: Conflagration
Using Burning Weapon engulfs your current weapon in flames, adding fire damage to your attacks. The Flaming Weapon skill line increases the fire damage, the duration of the effect and how quickly you can cast the effect. If you’re frequently playing as a Pyromancer, you need something more than the Orb of Fire so that you can inflict damage when you run out of magic points (MP). In this case, Burning Weapon should be a priority more so than Orb of Fire just so you can increase damage and unlock the ability to cast the spell instantly to save time during battle.
Conflagration
When you reach Expert levels you can unlock Conflagration, which allows you to set an enemy on fire. By further upgrading the ability, the inflamed enemy will lose 50 percent of their resistance to fire, essentially making your fire-based attacks hit 50 percent harder. The final upgrade guarantees that all critical hits result in the enemy being set on fire.
If you’re going to upgrade this skill line, be prepared to upgrade it completely. The best aspect of this ability are the lowered fire resistance and the guaranteed burn for critical hits. Without these two traits, the skill is not nearly as useful.
Concentration
Amateur: Influx of the World Heart
Expert: Lava Blood
When you unlock Concentration, you gain a higher chance to resist being interrupted during a cast, increased spell speed and 10 MP when you kill an enemy. All of this is extremely important to a Pyromancer and should take top priority for the most part. On top of this, Influx of the World Heart provides MP regeneration, addition MP regen when your MP is below 30 percent and health regeneration when your MP is full. Once again, this should all be top priority for any Pyromancer.
Lava Blood increases your fire damage by 25 percent, gives you a 10 percent high chance of landing a critical hit with an Orb of Fire or Fire Wave and increases the duration of the Burning Weapon and Guardian Flame abilities by five seconds. All of this should be high priority after you’ve upgraded the Orb of Fire and Fire Wave. Without upgrading these abilities, getting the boost from Lava Blood isn’t as significant.
Guardian Flames
Novice: Flame Mastery
Amateur: Avenging Flames
Guardian Flames provides limited protection from attacks for 15 seconds, via the use of three flames that surround your character. You gain a 30 percent reduction to damage in general, but with each hit you take, you lose one flame. Flame Mastery gives you one extra flame to increase the total to four flames, then adds another 10 percent resistance to damage with the second upgrade and gives you two more flames with the final upgrade.
Avenging Flames allows the Guardian Flames to attack an enemy that is attacking you. The second upgrade allows the flames to interrupt an attacking enemy and the final upgrade provides a 30 percent chance to set the attacker on fire. With both Flame Mastery and Avenging Flames being more defensive than anything else, they should take a backseat to your more offensive abilities. Use points in Feats to increase you defense until you’ve leveled up some of the more important Pyromancy abilities.
Fire Wave
Novice: Intense Heat
Amateur: Devastating Heat
Fire Wave repels all enemies within a 4 meter radius, which is great if you plan to use long-range attacks against them. If this isn’t the case, all of the Fire Wave abilities should be low priority. Intense Heat reduces the cost of the spell by 5 MP, allows you to cast the spell faster and knocks down all weak enemies. In large group battles, knocking down weaker enemies all at once can be a great advantage, but the points it requires to get to that final upgrade isn’t worth the effort unless you’ve already leveled up some of the more important skills.
Devastating Heat increases your fire damage, the radius of the Fire Wave attack and provides a higher chance to land a critical hit. Once you’re ready to upgrade the Fire Wave skill line, Devastating Heat is a great boost to the attack. It should take priority, but only after you’ve upgraded Orb of Fire and the other more important Pyromancer abilities.
Fire Spirit
Once you reach Master level, you can unlock the ability to call forth the Fire Spirit. This creates a spirit to help during battle. It creates up to four Orbs of Fire and attacks enemies within an eight meter radius. The orbs have the exact same properties as your Orb of Fire and will be upgraded with the same enhanced abilities. Upgrading the Fire Spirit skill increases the radius and then adds two more orbs.
By the time you’re high enough level to access the Fire Spirit, you should have all of your other important Pyromancy skills taken care of. With that being the case, the Fire Spirit is extremely helpful in that it’s like having a second player that can temporarily help in a fire fight. The Fire Spirit is especially helpful during boss battles when you need to remain on the move to avoid taking damage.
